Free Marketing Advice

So, Texas has a chain of restaurants called Taco Cabana. We didn't actually set foot in one (though my friend in Austin is a fan), but we did hear one of their commercials. It was some lame mariachi music. Uh, HELLO? This just seems so obvious to us. I don't know, maybe Manilow won't license his music for commercials. But just in case we're the first couple on earth to think of this:

Her name is Ronda; she works the counter
With a smile upon her face, and some freshly cleaned trays
She takes our money and gives us drink cups
While Tony is a star - the way he tends the salsa bar.
If there's a crowd indoors, the drive-thru's open 'til 4.
Great food at fabulous prices,
Who could ask for more?

It's the Taco, Taco Cabana.
The hottest spot north of Laredo.
At the Taco, Taco Cabana,
Tex-Mex food passion is always in fashion.
At the Taco... you'll fall in love.

Well, I like Pop Rocks and I like salad...

From UrbanDaddy:

Some things are natural pairings: bikinis and the beach, cigars and scotch, March Madness and a complete lack of productivity at work.

Others require a little more imagination. Like: salad and candy.

And now you can thank your favorite spiky-haired avant-garde celeb chef Elizabeth Falkner, who's at it again with her Explosive Caesar Salad—an enhanced romaine, parm and Pop Rock candy concoction that'll literally kick-start your meal—available now at Orson.

When the salad appears at your table, you'll immediately notice that it isn't any ordinary Caesar. Which means you'll have to go on the attack. Start by breaking up the two wispy curls of crouton-like shaved toast into bite-sized pieces, and then stab the fleshy globes of dressing and let them burst over your lettuce leaves. Once fully soaked, the fun begins: the parmesan streusel topping is loaded with your favorite retro popping candy, there to bring a new kind of crunch to your salad. Load it up on a lettuce leaf and let the games begin.

Since the Pop Rocks are activated by moisture, you'll start to feel a slight peppery tingle on the tip of your tongue that grows as you make your way through your salad, but happily subsides almost as quickly as it starts.

If you were expecting a stomach-busting explosion, we're happy to report that it's all an urban legend.

So go ahead and order that rum and Coke.

WTF?IF!

How is it Friday already? Well, you know, in 55 minutes anyway. After being on vacation for a week, this week has just flown by. Saw WAY more wildflowers driving along the north shore of Clear Lake tonight on my way home from a meeting in Sacramento than we did last week at the Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Center in Austin. Oh well; in general the trip to Texas was fun, but we packed too much into a week's time. I'll post more about it... someday.

Incommunicado

I have decided that I'm not taking the laptop to Texas. With United charging a fee for each checked bag, we'll need that "one personal item" rule for something other than the laptop case. I'm going to take a bunch of magazines and try to get caught up on reading. Of course I won't, because we'll be too busy - we already have this week "off" packed with more stuff than we should be attempting to accomplish in a month. (You know, some days I think I ought to move to one of those remote South Pacific islands where there's nothing to do all day but sit and watch the colors of the lagoon water change. I doubt I could survive an existence that relaxed, but it does sound more appealing with each passing year.) Anyway, if you're dying for a slice of our lives in the interim, check the mobile blog. I might get ambitious enough to post to it.

Older and older

Isn't Daylight Savings Time stupid? I need to move back to Arizona.

Actually, I need to move back to the Midwest, where TV shows come on an hour earlier. I tried to stay up for the premiere of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," but I couldn't make it. Last night I once again fell asleep on the couch between the time somebody said "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night" and the opening monologue. I am so old.

Further evidence of this oldness? We went out last night and I had a few cocktails. Okay, more than a "few." Apparently, there is a time in one's life when one can bounce back the next morning from that kind of over-indulgence, and that time is one's twenties. That time is increasingly farther in the rear-view mirror.

After my nap this afternoon (yet more evidence), I did manage to gather more information for our trip next week. I probably should have gathered tax info. for our appointment with the tax preparer, but trip planning is more fun.

Okay, tonight we have more "Amazing Race"--assuming I can stay up that late!

I forget

I forget that it's winter. Here along the coast, we have our [relatively] cold snap in January. By the time Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we're ready for a warm-up. Trees are already budding out. It seems like spring has sprung... until you have to take a trip somewhere. There are road conditions to check, chains to worry about, appropriate clothing to think about - and that's just for a trip to another part of northern California!

I forget that I make friends differently than other people. We went to a housewarming last night. That's the type of social interaction I will never get comfortable with. When I was growing up, the people who visited our house were people that my parents had known all of THEIR lives. New people are scary. I've never understood my cousin, who can move into a new place and instantly make a thousand or so new friends - a trait I first noticed in her when we were five years old. What struck me last night was not that I'm not good meeting new people [duh], but that I'm not particularly good at maintaining casual acquaintances. I knew (in the sense of having met more than twice previously) at least a quarter of the people at the party, but I was still clearly out of my element. None of these people were my friends. When I'm friends with someone, I expect that I will talk to them at least weekly, if not daily. We will have the type of relationship where we can just drop by each other's residences unannounced. We will be able to talk to each other about ANYTHING. I really don't know how to have any other type of friendship.